Brussels wants to see who wins the US presidential vote before determining its position on continuing aid to Ukraine, Deutsche Welle reported on Tuesday, citing an anonymous senior EU official.
The bloc is “holding its breath,” waiting to see who comes out on top in the election. The winner will hopefully clarify the next administration’s position on further US military support for Ukraine, the official reportedly told journalists in Brussels on Tuesday on condition of anonymity. After that, the EU will be able to define its own policy, they are said to have added.
Should Republican candidate Donald Trump win and carry out earlier promises to cut US aid to Kiev, “the EU’s course will remain the same – to support Ukraine,” the official reportedly said.
“But whether all 27 EU members will continue this line is another question,” the official added. The person was likely referring to Hungary and its previous vetoes on the bloc’s Ukraine aid, DW wrote.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long been the sole dissenting voice in the EU when it comes to unconditional support for Kiev. Earlier this year, Orban dropped his veto of a massive €50 billion EU aid package for Ukraine after facing what he called “blackmail” from the bloc’s other 26 members.
The Hungarian leader said earlier this week that this year’s American elections are particularly important in terms of EU-US relations. “In all major strategic issues, Europe has not had an independent foreign policy, it has always been in line with the position of the United States,” he said at a meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Tuesday. As a result, the EU is “involved in the war in Ukraine, experiencing an energy crisis and a decline in competitiveness,” Orban said. “Europe has failed to defend its interests.”
The US election may lead to major changes that could “allow the EU to stand more firmly on [its] interests,” Orban stated.
In a highly contentious election cycle, the issue of continued US aid to Ukraine has been a major talking point.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that he could end the Ukraine conflict in a day by getting both Moscow and Kiev to sit down for peace talks. On the other hand, his Democratic rival and current US Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged to maintain the course of incumbent Joe Biden and “stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies.”